''Bhadra''
Feminine: sa, भद्रा, Bhadrā is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

word meaning 'good', 'fortune' or 'auspicious'. It is also the name of many men, women and objects in

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and ...

Male Figures

King of Chedi

Bhadra was a king of

Chedi Kingdom Chedi ( sa, चेदी) was a kingdom which fell roughly in the Bundelkhand division of Madhya Pradesh regions to the south of river Yamuna along the river Ken. Its capital city was called Suktimati in Sanskrit. According to the Mahabha ...

who participated in the

Kurukshetra War The Kurukshetra War ( sa, कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the ''Mahabharata ( sa, महाभारत )''. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle be ...

from the side of the

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...

. He was killed by the warrior

Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...

Grandson of Manu

The first man Svayambhuva Manu and his Shatarupa had a daughter named Shraddha. Bhadra was one of her twelve sons.

Yaksha

Bhadra was also the name of a

Yaksha The yakshas ( sa, यक्ष ; pi, yakkha, i=yes) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in ...

who served their king,

Kubera Kubera ( sa, कुबेर, translit=Kuberā) also known as Kuvera, Kuber and Kuberan, is the god of wealth, and the god-king of the semi-divine yakshas in Hinduism. He is regarded as the regent of the north (''Dikpala''), and a protecto ...

. Due to a curse of sage

Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

, he was born as a lion.

Krishna's son

The god

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

married the river goddess Kalindi and had 10 sons. Bhadra was one of them.

Sage

Bhadra was a renowned

Maharishi Maharishi is a Sanskrit word, written as "महर्षि" in Devanagari (formed from the prefix mahā- meaning "great" and r̥ṣi - sage, poet or a singer of sacred hymns), indicating members of the highest order of ancient Indian sages, ...

. He was the son of Pramati and the father of Upamanyu.

Female Figures

Bhadrakali

Bhadrā or Bhadrakālī is one of the fierce forms of the Supreme Goddess

Devi Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conce ...

Kubera's wife

Kubera and his wife presenting gifts to sat

Bhadrā is the queen of Yakshas. She was the daughter of an

Asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...

named Mura and married

, the god of wealth. She is also known by the names Yakshi, Chhavi, Riddhi, Manorama, Nidhi, Sahadevi and Kuberi. Bhadrā and Kubera had three sons named Nalakuvara,

Manigriva Manibhadra is one of the major yakshas. He was a popular deity in ancient India. Iconography Several well known images of yaksha Manibhadra have been found. The two oldest known image are: Yaksha Manibhadra from Parkham Yaksha Manibhadra com ...

and Mayuraja, and a daughter named Minakshi.

Chandra's daughter

Bhadrā was also the name of a daughter of

Chandra Chandra ( sa, चन्द्र, Candra, shining' or 'moon), also known as Soma ( sa, सोम), is the Hindu god of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation. He is one of the Navagraha (nine planets of Hinduism) an ...

(alias Soma), the moon god. She once did penance to gain the sage Utathya as her husband. Seeing this, sage Atri, her grandfather, got her married to Utathya. The god of the seas,

Varuna Varuna (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, su ...

, became enamoured of her and eloped with her from Utathya's hermitage and hid her inside the sea. Despite attempts by the sage

Narada Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...

to make him return Bhadrā, Varuna refused give her, causing an enraged Utathya to drink up the entire sea. Seeing the sage's divine powers, Varuna submitted himself to his and returned Bhadrā back. The sage was pleased to get her back, and released both the world and Varuna from their sufferings.

Krishna's wife

Bhadrā is one of the Ashtabharya, the eight principal queen-consorts of Hindu god Krishna. The Vishnu Purana and the Harivamsa refer to her as 'the daughter of Dhrishtaketu' or 'the princess of Kekeya'.

Vasudeva's wife

Krishna's father

Vasudeva According to Hindu scriptures, Vasudeva (Sanskrit: वसुदेव, IAST: ''Vasudeva''), also called Anakadundubhi, (''anakas'' and ''dundubhis'' both refer to ''drums'', after the musicians who played these instruments at the time of his ...

also had a wife named Bhadrā. She died on the funeral pyre of her husband.

Wife of Vyushitashva

Bhadrā was a beautiful princess, who was the daughter of King Kakshivan. She married King Vyushitashva of Puru dynasty. After his untimely death, she lamented over his body. The spirit of her husband appeared in the sky and blessed her with six sons.

Princess of Vishala

Bhadra was a princess of Vishala who once did penance to married King Karusha. Shishupala, a king, disguised himself as Karusha and married her.

Notes

References

{{HinduMythology Hindu goddesses Salakapurusa